Opinion No 87 – Municipal Body Disposal Policy for Persons Considered Destitute and/or Socially Isolated
On 22 April 2025, the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics publishes its Opinion No 87 on the municipal body disposal policy for persons considered destitute and/or socially isolated. The request originated from the then Walloon Minister of Housing, Local Authorities and Cities, Christophe Collignon. The Committee examines whether, and under what conditions, a municipality may proceed with cremation as a standard practice when no declaration of intent from the deceased is known.
Opinion by letter No 20 – New Forms of Body Disposal
On 25 June 2025, the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics publishes its Opinion by letter No 20 on new forms of body disposal.
Addendum to Opinion by Letter No 17 – Relevance of Mentioning Ethnic Origin in Clinical Trial Protocols
Can the collection of data on ethnic origin be justified in the context of clinical trials? The Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics recently expressed its opinion in its Opinion by Letter No 17 of 9 September 2024. It considers that this practice may be justified provided that a strict ethical and scientific framework is respected.
On 6 May 2025, the Committee published an addendum to Opinion by Letter No 17 following additional questions from BAREC.
Opinion by Letter No 19 regarding the communication of incidental findings during exploratory research aimed at developing a screening method
Published on December 18, 2024, Opinion by Letter No 19 concerns the communication of incidental findings discovered during exploratory research intended to develop a population screening method.
